• Photos must be saved with a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch)
• If sending from a digital camera, please send us the raw JPG image without resizing (we will resize accordingly)
• If scanning, scan at 150-175 lpi (lines per inch)
• Colour format should be RGB or CMYK (not INDEXED)
• Photos must be saved to the size (or bigger) of the final printed product (H x W)
• File formats accepted are .TIF, .JPG, .BMP, .EPS

Use the convienient File Uploader at the top of this page. You can also Email files to photos@colourtech.com or send via your Dropbox account to dropbox@colourtech.com

Important Notes:
• Actual appearance of photos may vary from one printing device to another
• Images from a website are not normally acceptable for printed products

See General Printing Guidelines for more information on photos.

Clothing - What to Wear:
The goal of any fine portrait is to direct the viewer’s eye to the face(s) in the portrait. All other elements should be secondary. For individuals, simple long-sleeved garments in medium to dark tones of brown, grey, burgundy, green or blue are pleasing choices when photographed against a medium or dark background. It is most important to wear something you would be wearing when working with your clients. Be comfortable.

Things To Avoid:
• wide or particularly deep V-necks, or bulky cowl neck sweaters that completely hide the neck
• low-cut tops showing cleavage
• florescent, light, and bright colours such as pink, orange, white.
• busy patterns, bold stripes, plaids, checks and prints in suit jackets, ties or blouses are visually confusing and do not photograph well
• short-sleeve shirts (bare arms divert attention and will overpower the face)
• colourful eye-shadow, bright red lipstick, frosted eye-shadow, blush or foundation, strong, black eye-liner

Ladies:
• Keep your neckline simple whether you are wearing a blouse or shirt, sweater, t-shirt or jacket
• If you choose to wear a necklace, broach or earrings, keep it simple
• Wear or bring a suite jacket so you have another look to choose from
• Keep your make-up in natural tones with a flat finish, including lipstick
• Apply a touch heavier than usual but ensure it is well-blended

Gentlemen:
• Men should be clean shaven with hair carefully groomed and trimmed about one week before the portrait session
• If you prefer the unshaven look, facial hair should be carefully groomed

Group Photos
Avoid multi colours and patterns…balance your colours

When in doubt, ask the photographer for advice or bring a change of shirt/blouse or tie.

Quark XPress
• Include all fonts and supporting images with Quark document (collect for output)
• Picture boxes must not have background set to none unless it is Vector or EPS with a clipping path
• Supporting images should be at a resolution of 300 dpi

Adobe InDesign
• Include all fonts and supporting images with Quark document (package)
• Picture boxes must not have background set to none unless it is Vector or EPS with a clipping path
• Supporting images should be at a resolution of 300 dpi

Adobe PDF
• Exporting from InDesign
• Exporting from Quark XPress

Adobe Photoshop
• File formats accepted are .PSD, .TIF, .JPG, .BMP, .EPS
• If you have an image with a clipping path, save as an .PSD, .TIF or .EPS
• Your Photoshop files should be at a resolution of at least 300 dpi

Adobe Illustrator
• Convert all fonts to OUTLINES
• Try to include any placed files separately from artwork
• Save as Illustrator EPS format

1. Which Data Type? – determine what you want the user to see when they scan your code

• click the radio button to select "Content Type" (QR code you would like to create) > type or paste in the "Content" > and click "Generate". Save the image to your computer.

• Print out Colour Tech's emailed proof of the QR Code at 100%
• Test by scanning with a smart device

Use the convienient File Uploader at the top of this page. You can also eMail files to photos@colourtech.com or send via your Dropbox account to dropbox@colourtech.com.

Many of our products are also available for you to upload your print-ready designs. Check them out!

(1) PDF form can be filled in electronically and then printed/faxed to finance directly: 905-363-0210 or emailed to ar@colourtech.com

(2) PDF form can be filled in electronically and then printed/faxed to Colour Tech: 905-820-5376 or emailed to ar@colourtech.com

• Send at actual size (i.e. Business Card 3.5" x 2")
• Add 1/8" bleed on all sides (if your artwork touches the edge)
• Submit as 1up (not multi-up imposed)
• Keep all type and artwork 1/8" (.125") inside all edges for margins
• If you are submitting completed artwork for a product that requires foil, spot uv, or raised spot uv, please also include a vector file in 100% black showing only the elements that require those enhancements.

Bleed

In order to avoid white spaces on the final printed piece, the artwork must be extended beyond the trim size. This is done so that when the paper is trimmed, and the cut is off by a small margin, it will be unnoticeable. The artwork that extends past the trim marks, and is cut off, is called the bleed. The bleed that Colour Tech requires is 1/16" (min) around the entire final trimmed piece (1/8" is recommended). For example a 4" x 6" postcard would need 4.25" x 6.25" worth of artwork. To make bleed using InDesign, Quark or a vector program such as Illustrator, simply extend all images and backgrounds .0625” off the edge of the page. Photo editing software, such as Photoshop, does not have a bleed feature so set the file size (canvas size) when creating it to include bleed.

Text Safety

Text cannot be too close to the edge of the page since it will be cut off if the trim is off by a small margin. We recommend that all text is at least 1/4" from the edge of the page. For business cards and bookmarks, we recommend 1/8” from the edge so that if the trim is off by a small margin, the text will still be intact and appear centred on the page.

As with the 4" x 6" postcard sample below, you can see you need to have the bleed extend past the trim and your text should be within the safety margin.

What is RGB?

RGB Stands for Red Green and Blue. It is additive, which means the 3 colours are put together to recreate its entire spectrum. When the colours are all added together they come to form white. This is what your computer screen uses to display the information, black being an absence of any Red, Green or Blue, and white being all 3 of them combined at the same time.

What is CMYK?

CMYK Stands for Cyan Yellow Magenta and Black, and is a subtractive colour model also referred to as process colour or four colour. It is subtractive, as inks are layered onto each other once printed. The black ink is added to CMYK as the black that is created by mixing Cyan Magenta and Yellow is not as desirable as the 100 percent black provided by the black ink. These are the inks that are used when printing. The colour white comes from the white paper.

As such when setting your files up for printing it is good form to choose the CMYK colour settings in the program that you are using. However, we can also accept files created in these three colour modes:

• CMYK (recommended for Traditional Offset printing - safest option)
• RGB (recommended for Photographs and Digital Printing)
• PANTONE (recommended for colour critical jobs and destined for Offset 1 or 2 colour printing)

Canva is an online design tool where files are created using RGB & HEX colours which looks good on screen and on digital printing. If you are printing large quantities, or choosing any of our offset printed products, we will need to convert the files to CMYK. Please be aware that colours may become duller after the conversion as bright RGB tones cannot be produced in CMYK.

Before you start your design, please make sure you create it at the finished size you require.
i.e. 8.5" x 11" or 3.5" x 2", etc. Bleeds will be added during the export.

Make sure to turn on "Show print bleed" from the file menu. Once bleeds are turned on, make sure your backgrounds or images are extended past the cut line if necessary, hence creating the bleed.

Enable the checkbox for Crop marks and bleed, then click the Download button.
You will then be prompted to to download and save your PDF.

Your settings may need to be customized according to the specific requirements of your print job.

Click File + Export or press CMD + E on the keyboard.
Name the file; navigate to where you wish to save it; Format: Adobe PDF; click Save.

Please note: the above colour settings are valid for InDesign files in which the images are already CMYK. If you have placed RGB images and wish to convert them to CMYK in the PDF file, use the following settings instead: Colour Conversion: Convert to Destination (Preserve Numbers)
Destination: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
Profile Inclusion Policy: Don't Include Profiles.

Ink Manager: if your InDesign file was created with Pantone or spot colours, but should print in CMYK, open the Ink Manager and check All Spots to Process

In multi-page files, arrange the pages in numerical sequence. Do not create 'printer's spreads' or 'facing pages'. Do not 'gang' or 'impose' a number of pages together into one big page.

For multi-page projects such as newsletters, magazines and catalogues, keep in mind that the total number of pages must be divisible by 4. In other words, projects of this type should have 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, etc. pages, the total number always being a multiple of 4. Therefore, if you end up with 23 pages, you should include a blank page or find additional content to bring the total up to 24. Do not leave it up to the printer to decide where the blank pages should fall. Details such as this often cause unnecessary delays.

If you are using a program such as Photoshop or Illustrator, where you can only output one page at a time, please label all files clearly with page numbers. If possible the cover should start with 01, then the inside cover page as 02, and so on.

About font formats.
We accept most common Mac and PC font formats, including PostScript, TrueType & OpenType

Raster vs Vector?

Raster text is made in photo editing software, such as Photoshop, whereas Vector text is made in layout programs, and vector illustration programs such as InDesign and Illustrator. The difference between them is that raster text is made up of pixels, whereas vector text is a mathematical representation of the text. When expanding raster text it becomes blurry very quickly, whereas vector text will always remain crisp, no matter how large it is being printed. As such it is recommended that all text be vector.

Do I need to send my fonts with the job?
The general rule is that when you send us application files, you should also send the fonts used in those files. However, when you send us correctly prepared PDF files, the fonts should already be embedded in the PDF and will, therefore, not need to be sent separately. By 'embedded', we mean that the font is contained or included in the PDF file.

There are a number of ways to send fonts. Many applications (such as QuarkXPress, InDesign) have the ability to 'package' or 'collect for output', which allow you to gather all of the fonts and other supporting files for easy delivery to a printer. Consult your page layout program's documentation for information about how to use its font-collection feature.

View our Font Selections page.